McCain, Palin in Lancaster.

Central Pennsylvanians will get their first look at Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin when she and Republican nominee John McCain arrive here this afternoon for a rally on the campus of Franklin & Marshall College.At least 7,000 people are expected to attend the event in the college's cavernous gymnasium. Two hours before the rally's scheduled start time of 3:30 p.m., scores of people were still waiting to gain entrance.Many were on hand to see Palin, the Alaska governor who has electrified the Republican base since receiving the GOP's presidential nomination in St. Paul, Minn., last week."When (McCain) picked Palin, it gave me a whole new energy about this race, a whole new hope," said Jeanetta Quinlan, 44, of Exton, Chester County. A mother of four, Quinlan said she felt that Palin, who has five children, would provide "a voice for mothers," in Washington.A relative unknown before her ascension to the No. 2 spot on the Republican ticket, Palin has come in for tough questioning about her qualifications to succeed McCain if she's called on to do so. A former small town mayor, Palin had served barely two years as Alaska's governor before being tapped by McCain.But according to David Dalziel, 63, also of Exton, Palin has "more experience than all three of them combined," referring to McCain, Democratic nominee Barack Obama and Democratic vice-presidential candidate Joseph Biden of Delaware."She's actually run something," he said. "Obama is a gifted orator. He's a philosopher. But we need more than a philosopher. We need action."Carol Leaman of Lancaster said Palin is "a good representative of all of us. She's charismatic, interesting to listen to and she doesn't seem like Washington."